Christmas at the Ruins: Reverse
by cupcakesarereallygood
Summary: It's been a year since Haruto's elaborate surprise for Ibara. Having gone so far, they still haven't moved on from being just friends. Now that Christmas time is around again, Haruto plans on finally breaking the ice and saying it to her straight, but then again, things never really go the way you plan them. Sequel (?) to Christmas at the Ruins. Another request, hope you enjoy!


_**Hi there. So truth be told, I totally forgot about this story. I just randomly decided to check my profile and I found this one completely untouched ever since the day I posted it. I don't even have a draft or template of the next chapter and I honestly can't remember anything about the original plot I thought of. I decided to read it and I nearly wanted to kill myself for posting this. There were so many mistakes (probably because of Autocorrect, I think I typed this on my phone back then) to the point that some of the lines didn't make sense even to me. So after reading it and proof reading it for a bit, I decided to tweak it and continue this story **____** Ibara and Haruto are just too precious to let go of. Sorry for the extremely long delay! Here's the edited version of the first chapter! **_

_**Oh yeah, I didn't edit the author's notes so it may come out a bit weird. LOL **_

_**Updated as of 10/25/2015**_

**Hi~! It's been awhile hasn't it? Probably a year or so? This is just a spontaneous idea I had, as in really. Like 5 seconds ago. So I don't really know how this will end up, but I hope you guys will like it, if anyone ever reads this. It's Christmas time again! What does Ibara have up under her sleeve eh? Well, let's find out! Meh. But I guess the plotline is pretty obvious already isn't it?**

**By the way, I was watching Frozen while typing this. Soo...it may turn out...weird I guess? Frozen does that to me a lot.**

**Christmas at the Ruins: REVERSE**

December 21st 2037

_Sorry for the late notice! The Health care Unit got sent on a mission. The VP said that the Mop Up Squad is still under suspension because of what happened 5 days ago. We'll be back when we can! Till next time, take care of the base while we're gone! Bye !_

_-Naruse Ibara, Fukasaku Aoi, Nomura Taeko_

"Staring at that paper won't make them come back, Haruto." Ozu Kanon said as she was munching on a Pocky stick, God knows where she got it in the first place. Kurosawa Haruto merely gave a huff, not really knowing how to respond to that.

"Yeah, it won't. " He said after awhile, turning to face her. "But whining also won't make reparations for what you did. Now, the three of us are stuck together. Just like the old time eh?"

"Maaaan. It sure has been a long time since we got stuck like this." She said, scratching her head. "I'd gotten so used to being with that cheer squad of the Class Rep, it feels weird when it's just us."

"Yeah, yeah!" Ozu Shion agreed. "We can't bully Fukasaku if Fukasaku ain't here! When are they coming back, Haruto?"

"I don't know. Why are you even asking me that when I wasn't even given prior notice about them leaving in the first place?" Haruto muttered, placing the piece of paper inside the drawer, closing it right after. Kurosawa Haruto was usually a mature person. He can think rationally and accept the situation given to him as it is. He was never the kind to mope around or something. He would never, EVER, be all mopey and depressed over something as simple as not being told that Naruse was leaving for a mission for an undetermined period of time. Nope. He wasn't. He wasn't moping. He wasn't depressed. He wasn't-

"Denying things in your head seems a little crazy to me, Haruto." Kanon commented, noticing how quiet he had kept.

"Whoever said I was denying things eh?" He answered back. " If this is your boredom speaking Ozu Sisters, then please just silence it. If you hadn't blown up that building, then we wouldn't even be stuck here in the first place."

"Now that's just mean, you stu—"

"Channel 2 to Channel 3. This is Vice Principal Mishima speaking." The VP's voice suddenly came from the radio, startling all three of them. "Mop Up Squad, are you there? Kurosawa Haruto?"

"Kurosawa here." Haruto replied, taking the radio from the table. "Did you need something, VP?"

"Ah no, I was just calling to check up you and for a few trivial inquiries. I was wondering if maybe the Health Care Unit has contacted your team regarding the mission already?" VP Mishima asked as he sighed. "Naruse hasn't called me ever since they left. How about you?"

"No, we haven't heard from them for a week now." Haruto replied, his too-smart-of-a-brain already thinking of possible scenarios regarding Naruse's situation. "Would you like for us to go after them and check on them?"

"No." The VP answered, way too quickly if one might add. "You three, most especially the Sisters are under strict probation for what they've done. For now, your entire team is still under suspension. So no rescue missions allowed. Besides, Naruse's team's mission is to just check some of the places in Dr. Shiba's journal. It shouldn't be that hard for them."

"I understand." Haruto answered hesitantly. Truth is, he didn't understand why he was being suspended as well, but it wasn't in his character to mope and be depressed, so he had to endure. "But we will contact you if they call us. If something goes wrong with their mission, please notify us immediately so we can go help them."

"Very well then. Keep up the good work, Kurosawa. Remember to keep the Sisters in check. I'll notify you if anything happens. VP Mishima is out."

"Roger, copy that." Haruto bade as the call ended_. 'Wherever you are Naruse, I just hope you're being careful enough.._.' He thought with a sigh, peering at the paper that Ibara had scribbled the messy letter on. What was wrong with that girl though? Leaving without saying goodbye at all. Leaving all the formalities to a mere note. When she gets back, he'll definitely give her hell. And oh is he ever looking forward to it.

December 22nd 2037

_It's alright. They'll be alright. She's tougher than what you expect her to be, you know that much. Any second now. That damn thing will beep any second now._

"Oi, Harutoooo~!" Kanon called out, throwing a grenade at the young man's head. "How long're you gonna stare at that damn thing eh? That's just soooooo boring! I'm getting bored just by looking at you!"

"Tch." Haruto grabbed the grenade before it caused any damage, before turning in his chair to face the Ozu Sisters who were lounging around on the couch in their newly found base, which was basically a laboratory that they found in the Old Capital. "If you're bored, Kanon, don't take it out on me. I'm not the one who nearly destroyed Shinjuku and got the entire team injured just because she couldn't take it being stuck in ruins."

"Ugh. How long are you gonna rub that in my face huh? You told me that yesterday!"

"Gyahahahahaha!" Ozu Shion suddenly laughed, making the other two look at her. "Haruto's just pissed cause you got Class Rep injured, Aneki." She said, to which her sister laughed along as well.

"Yeah, Naruse_ and everyone else_." Haruto said with a sigh. "Because of that stunt of yours, the Mop Up Squad got suspended, and now, the Healthcare Unit got sent to the mission instead of us. I presume you're happy that you finally got your break?"

"But this is just so boring!" Kanon moaned, raising her leg up on the table. "But anyway, why do you still call the Class Rep by her last name eh? After that little show of yours last Christmas, I thought that you guys were...oh...I don't know, hitting it off the bat or something?" She said, a smirk plastered on her face.

"Yeah, yeah!" Shion readily agreed. "Four Eyes was saying somethin' bout babies and stuff." Haruto sighed before turning back to his desk and tampering with one of his latest inventions.

"One, that's none of your concern, and two, does it matter? Whether I call her by first name or last name? I still address her properly either way. That's all that matters." He said holding up his tiny machinery to the light. "And since when were you guys so talkative anyway? Last time I checked, neither of you cared about anyone else but your welfares. Why give attention to me and Naruse now?"

"It's called boredom, Haruto." Kanon deadpanned, waving him off. "And besides, both of you have been so damn awkward whenever we put you together. It's frustrating to watch, ya know?"

"I'll say this again, Kanon." Haruto looked over his shoulder and gave the sisters a serious look. "It doesn't concern you. As long as both teams can continue doing jobs and missions, it doesn't matter how I interact with Naruse or anyone else for that matter."

"Aaah~ That's such a boring answer, Haruto." Kanon complained, watching Shion munch on what seemed like a sandwich. She patted her sister's head before turning back to Haruto who was dead set on whatever he was tinkering with. "It's just as you said, it really isn't my concern. Buuut, in a way, it concerns people that I'm concerned with. Naruse Ibara taught me and Shion over here that there's more to our lives than just exacting revenge on the b-st-rds who hurt us before. There's a whole lot more to see in this world, no matter how limited our sight is." Haruto stopped whatever he was doing and looked over to Kanon, who was affectionately patting her sister's head. "If it wasn't for her meddlesomeness, who knows where Shion and I could be right now? I mean, if I'm actually still alive that is. If not for her, I would've died that day. I would've fallen off that train, and I wouldn't have been able to live this long. Haaah~ Now that I think about it, I sure do owe her a lot huh?" She said, looking at Haruto with a smile, even though she still had her signature sinister look, the young man couldn't help but stare at the sight before him, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Not once." He said, taking the thing he was messing with and walking over to them. Haruto dragged the desktop chair with him as he placed the small box like machine on the table before them. He sat down on the chair and looked at Kanon and Shion who were staring at him bewilderedly. "Not once in this lifetime would I have ever thought you'd say something like that to anyone, to me of all people. I guess Naruse has rubbed off on you an awful lot now, hasn't she?" He said, almost mockingly. Kanon clicked her tongue before glaring at him.

"Tch." She muttered irately, turning away from him. "Enough of this sappy talk. What the hell've you been messing with now? You've been working on that ever since Class Rep and her cheer squad left for that mission a week ago."

"Changing the topic doesn't really help, Kanon." Haruto said knowingly. But when he swathe irritation on Kanon's face, he let it slide. "This...well, this is...a deviation from my usual inventions. In fact, it's completely unrelated." He said, flicking on the switch. Light was suddenly projected from the small circle that was on the box, forming a holographic square. "It's like a projector, as you can see. But it functions differently from the usual ones we had back in Osaka."

"I'd say something like "A projector's still a projector no matter how you tinker it" but after knowing you for years, and believe me we are way overdue, I'd be smarter to not say that." Kanon said, crossing her legs and arms, staring at the lines that squiggled on the holographic screen. Shion was utterly amazed as she stared at it. "So, what's the twist in this little thing?"

"It reads and projects memories." Haruto said with a proud smirk. Shion and Kanon looked at him, before looking at each other, before looking back at him. "Come on now, you two. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. I can do something like this; it's been a week after all."

"How come we can't do something like this when we're bored, Aneki?" Shion asked as she marvelled at Haruto's creation.

"That's because we're not nerds like this one." Kanon answered. "So? How does this read and project memories then?"

"Simply put, it uses brain signals." He said, holding out his finger to the projection. "But since I can't directly process brain signals straight from the brain without using some sort of head gear, which, let's all admit is weird and unconventional, I had to opt for something which is easily affected by the very brain signals where this machine takes the memories from."

"Translation into a language that we can understand please?" Kanon asked as she pointed at Shion who had steam emanating from the top of her head.

"Oh, right. In layman's terms, since putting on head gear is just stupid, I thought of another part of our body which easily reacts to our brains." The girls looked at him, seemingly understanding what he just said. "In a reaction test, the first thing that moves in a person's body is their hands right? In a way, the hand is the direct receiver of information from the brain. Well, disregarding the fact that the information actually goes through a lot of nerves in the process, the main end point of the relay of information is our fingertips." He said thoughtfully. "To make it even simpler: This machine uses your fingertips to project your memories."

"But why the fingertips?" Shion piped, making the two look at her. "You said that the hand reacts first right? So why is that thing only reading stuff from your fingertips?" Kanon was surprised, hearing that sort of observation from her sister, while Haruto just smiled as he stared at his fingertips and the wavering screen.

"That..." He muttered wistfully. "That is a story not meant to be told. Well, not to you anyway."

December 23rd 2037

"Oi, Haruto."

Kanon called out to the young man who was slumped on the desk, staring intently at the radio in front of him. Haruto looked at her, giving her the most bored look he could ever muster up, not even bothering to say a greeting to her. The sister's were shocked, for the lack of the better word, to see an expression like that on his face.

"Damn, Haruto." Kanon sympathized. "You look messed up. What's your deal now, huh?"

"It's nothing, Kanon." Haruto sighed. "If you're bored, why don't you go out and...I don't know, destroy stuff or something." He said, turning his back on them, slumping back on the desk.

"Something is definitely wrong with Haruto if he lets us destroy stuff, Aneki. " Shion said tugging on her sister's coat. "But what's wrong with him, I wonder?"

"He's probably just worried since Class Rep hasn't called ever since she left." She shrugged, laughing. "If you're that worried, why don't you just call her or something? It's what a damn radio is for, after all. Quit being so whiny and just do what you want to."

"I can't just do what I want Kanon. You know that." He answered back, fiddling with his Memory Reader (or so he called it). "If they're in a dire situation and I just call them carelessly, who knows what might happen. And besides, I'm not really that worried about them. Naruse is there with Fukasaku and Nomura. She can take a situation or two. She'll be fine...I think. .."

"Man." Kanon sighed. "I'm not exactly smart or some sh-t, but you're pretty love struck to me."

"Lovestruck?" Haruto asked, turning his chair. "I am no-"A loud beep suddenly resounded all around the room, silencing all of its occupants. Haruto and Kanon turned their attention to the radio on the table, staring at it as it beeped and blinked.

"Channel 1 to Channel 3. *vsssh* Haruto, are you there?" Came Naruse Ibara's voice, along with the sound of mesh and static.

"Ne..." Shion piped, walking over to the radio. "Class Rep is calling us on the radio, Haruto!" She added, pointing to the said device. She grabbed it and held it out to Haruto, who was staring dumbly at it. After a few seconds, reality finally hit him as he hurriedly reached out to grab the radio, but Kanon quickly nabbed it from her sister's hand. She tauntingly threw the radio up and down, mocking him. Haruto glared at her for a bit before holding out his hand to her.

"Kanon." He stressed. "Give it to me right now."

"Ah ah ah~" She jeered, irritating him even more as the beeps kept on sounding. "I thought you weren't lovestruck? Why so desperate to answer this call?" Ibara's muffled voice resounded from the radio once again, calling Haruto's attention.

"Kanon!" He exclaimed, his irritation showing in his voice. "GIVE. ME. THE. DAMN. RADIO." He said, saying every word with stress, expressing them as orders. Kanon smiled to herself as she triumphantly held out the radio to him. Haruto was dubious, but he took a slow step forward, just to be sure. When nothing happened, he decided to take this process slowly and surely, just until the next message was heard.

"Hey, Haruto? " Ibara asked. "Are you there or not? I'm hanging up now, alright?"

"No wait!" He nearly shouted, taking the radio from Kanon grasp. "Channel 3 to Channel 1, Kurosawa Haruto here." He began, sending one final glare at his teammate. When she stuck her tongue out at him, he just sighed before walking away from the Ozu sisters who were back on the couch. He sat back down on his desktop chair, just as a response came over to him.

"Ah!" A not-Ibara voice chirped. "Kurosawa-senpai, it's been awhile huh?"

"Fukasaku? " Haruto asked, obviously confused. "Where's Naruse? Wasn't she the one calling a second ago?"

"Aaaah, that?" Fukasaku Aoi nervously laughed. "Ibara-senpai is currently...preoccupied right now. So I'm speaking for her."

'_Preoccupied?' _Haruto thought. '_Preoccupied with what exactly?' _Deciding to just let it slide, thinking that they were on some kind of important mission, he took a breather before putting on his best game face. "Alright then. Is there something wrong with your mission? Are you in trouble? Do you need back up or something?"

"No, it's nothing of that sort." She laughed. "Things are just a tad bit hectic in here, so this might take us a while. Ibara-senpai said that we should probably notify you of our situation here. But don't worry, we're fine. Ah. Ibara-senpai also wanted to apologize, since we weren't able to contact you for the past week. While we were travelling, she fell off a hanging bridge and got the radio wet. It took us awhile before we got it working again."

"Is she fine though?" He couldn't help but ask. He heard snickers coming from the Ozu sisters behind him, but he chose to ignore them. "While I'm at it, what kind of mission required Naruse to cross a hanging bridge? In hindsight, are there even hanging bridges in Tokyo of all places?" Haruto heard some muttering from the other side of the call, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. "Fukasaku? Are you still there?"

"Isn't there a different name you want to call out to, Haruto~?" Kanon taunted.

"Again, Kanon." He sighed. "For the last time, this is none of your concern so-"

"W-wait!" Someone shouted from the radio. "I-Ibara-senpai! Watch out! That's a-" Her sentence was cut off by a loud splash and a female shriek. "Mou! Are you alright, Senpai? Taeko! Could you help her out of that? Kurosawa-senpai is still on the other side so-"

"It's fine, Aoi-san." Nomura Taeko said, as shuffling steps were heard. "But you should probably cut the conversation short. Ibara-senpai needs our help right now."

"Ah, right. Then, Kurosawa-senpai, I'm sorry, but I guess we'll contact you later." Aoi sounded exasperated as she spoke. "Ibara-senpai got herself in quite a predicament right now. But don't worry! Aoi and Taeko will take care of her!"

"Then I guess I'll leave her I'm your care." Haruto sighed, knowing that there was nothing he could do for them. "Have you contacted the Vice Principal though? If you haven't reported for a week then he must be worried sick."

"Not to worry, Senpai. We managed to call the VP right before Ibara-senpai got the radio wet, so we're all good." Fukasaku answered but then another loud splash was heard. "EH? T-TAEKO? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Aw man! Sorry, Senpai! I really have to go!"

"It's fine. Take care of your-"

"Ah! I forgot to mention something!" Aoi said right before she dropped the call. "Ibara-senpai said that we might not make it to Christmas, so she's really sorry. We still have about half a notebook's worth of places to check before we're done here. It's not like we can leave without finishing what we started after all. But now that you think about it, maybe this is just karma for the trick you pulled on her last Christmas!" She joked.

"Aoi~!" Ibara's voice called out. "Get your butt over here and help us already! "

"Coming!" Aoi shouted back. "Sorry Kurosawa-senpai, I'll get Ibara-senpai to call you when we can okay? Bye~! Oh, and advanced Merry Christmas! Fukasaku Aoi is out~!" And so the call was dropped. Haruto sighed before he placed the radio back on the table, staring at it as it sat next to the Memory Reader.

"Well." He muttered. "There goes this Christmas holiday. Not that we actually have holidays..."

"I have to say Haruto," Kanon said again, but he refused to look at her. He just knew that she was going to rub some stupid little made up idea of him being "Lovesick" of all things, in his face. Not that it was true of course. "I don't really believe in those gods or bhudda or whatever, but man are they playing a mean trick on you. You lied to her last year about a mission, and now she's the one who's doing it to you. Only hers is actually real, though. She-"

"Not another word Kanon." Haruto said as he stood up from his chair. "Not another word." He repeated, making his way out of their hide out, leaving the Ozu sisters staring at his leaving silhouette. When he was finally out of range, both sisters laughed their manic laughs, rolling around on the couch, unable to contain their amusement.

"Ha-Haruto was..was mad at you, Aneki! " Shion commented as she held her stomach. "Did you see his face?!"

"Damn, Class Rep." Kanon said as she tried to regain her breathing. "Remind me to thank the girl for letting me see such a look on that Nerdy-psycho's face!" Oh well. Forget the fact that she just angered a guy who could potentially blow her up, justice was served in the sweetest way possible. Justice that Haruto sure as hell deserved.

"SENPAAAIII~!" Aoi called out from the railings of the bridge. "Are you alright? Where's Taeko?" A head of dark hair suddenly resurfaced from the water, revealing a soaked Ibara, dragging Taeko along towards the shore. "Senpai!" Aoi called out again as she ran towards them.

"She's fine..." Ibara breathed as she let Taeko lay down on the grass. "I mean, we're both fine. We just slipped a little." She said upon seeing Aoi's face when she came to their side, panting heavily. "How'd the talk with Haruto go?" she asked, wiping away the sloppy bangs that were sticking to her forehead.

"He was pretty worried, I mean, he sounded really worried that is." Aoi answered as she handed Ibara a towel from the huge travel carry bag that she had on her shoulder. She draped another one on Taeko as she slowly regained her composure from nearly drowning in a contaminated river, not that that mattered of course. As Ibara dried off her hair, "Aoi already told him that we probably couldn't make it for Christmas though. He sounded disheartened, even though he tried to hide it."

"Ah..." Ibara muttered absently. "Is that so?" Taeko, who had seemingly gotten out of her daze of near death (by drowning of all things!) looked over to her senior as she removed her glasses.

"Is everything alright, Ibara-senpai? " She asked, wiping her face and hair. "You seemed rather out of it." Ibara looked at her and saw the worried expression on her face. She couldn't help but smile as she patted Taeko's head affectionately.

"It's not that big a deal, Taeko. You don't have to worry about it." She reassured her with a smile.

"So something is bothering you then?" Aoi concluded as she took out a rice ball from her bag. "You can tell us anything, you know, Ibara-senpai. We won't judge you or something." Ibara smiled at the two, before standing up and rapidly drying off her hair.

"It's nothing really."She said, placing the towel over her shoulders. "But we should hurry it up a bit. It's already getting cold, don't you think? We may be immune to radiation, but not to colds."

"It's ironic to hear that from someone who has 10 times the athletic ability of a normal person's." Aoi commented as she placed strap of the travel bag on her shoulder. "I can't imagine her actually saying something like that at all."

"Then maybe she got it from someone else then?" Taeko asked as she stood up, towel draped over her. "It's very likely that it came from Kurosawa-senpai though. Well. ..knowing their circumstances and all."

"Eeeh~ Do you think Ibara-senpai wants us to hurry up so she can spend Christmas with Kurosawa-senpai?" Aoi said with a mischievous grin. "It's possible, right? I mean, after what happened last Christmas, I'm almost sure that she'd want to right?"

"A..Ah...Aoi-san?" Taeko muttered cautiously. "What're you thinking of doing right now? You're not getting any ideas of meddling now, are you?"

"Taeko, Taeko, Taeko." She repeated, shaking her head. "You really do know me too well. That's just boring! But in this situation, it can be really helpful, kekekeke." Aoi hurried her footsteps so as to catch up with her senior, who wa on her way to their make shift base change clothes.

"Ne, Ibara-senpai?" she asked, right before Ibara entered the building. She looked back at her junior, giving her a questioning look.

"Hmm? What is it, Aoi?"

"I was just wondering..." She mumbled slyly, hands to her back as she circled around Ibara like a hawk, creeping the latter out. "Would you happen to have...I don't know...plans for this Christmas? Maybe concerning a certain someone? Not that I'm pointing fingers here, but probably Kurosawa-senpai? "

"Huh? Haruto?" Ibara asked, fully facing her, a hand to her waist as the other one was still trying to dry her hair. "Of course I had plans for Christmas. I always do. But this is just another flaw in my plan. I didn't predict that Kanon would mess up big time like this, forcing us to do this prolonged mission by ourselves, but that's just the way things are. I'm sure Haruto can see it that way too."

"So...you had nothing in store for Kurosawa-senpai?" Aoi asked, seemingly disappointed. "After all that Kurosawa-senpai did for you last year, you're not going to do anything for him?!" She suddenly exclaimed, startling her senior.

"H-hey now, Aoi..." She a aid, trying to appease her. "Why're you so worked up over this? It can't be helped! We're too far away from them right now. We can't do anything about it! Though you really don't have to worry. I've got things under control, so just sit back and relax will ya?" she ruffled Aoi's hair before going inside.

"MOU! Senpai that's just—Huh? Wait...got what under control?" Aoi asked, looking over to Taeko who just shrugged, not knowing what to say either.

December 24th 2037

_"If I do forget, will you help me remember? Will you promise to never give up on me?"_

Kurosawa Haruto opened his eyes, only to be met with the dead color of the ceiling. Slowly, he got up, stretching his arms, trying to rub away the last remnants of sleepiness from his system, but not of the wonderful dream he just had.

"It's been awhile..." He muttered, staring at his finger tips. "How long has it been, since I've had a dream like that?" He thought to himself as he walked out of the room he accidentally slept in, only to be met with the sight of the Ozu sisters sleeping gracelessly, sprawled on the couch. Noticing the fallen blanket on the floor, he sighed before picking it up and draping over to the Sisters who slept somewhat peacefully. Smiling to himself, he looked out to the window, only to realize that it was snowing.

_'Huh... No wonder it's so cold today.' _He thought to himself. '_I sure hope Naruse actually remembered to wear her winter coat this time. She always seems to forget, no matter how much I remind her of it.' _He thought wistfully as he wiped off the fog from the glass.

'It's Christmas and I don't have anything to do." He mused out loud, doing a few stretches. "Guess I'll focus on my drawing board for my new inventions then.." Right as he was about to turn the corner back into his room, the radio suddenly beeped. Haruto, surprised as ever, walked over to it and saw that there was a recorded message. He pressed a play button, wondering who would send a voice record like that, though as much as he hated to admit it, thoughts of a certain someone kept popping into his head.

"Uhmm... Haruto?" Haruto froze upon reading the owner of the voice and sender of the message."Naruse Ibara here. Sorry for buzzing in so late, but there was a lot I had to do. Since I'd probably still be busy tomorrow, oh wait, it's already 1 am, so I should probably say today huh?" She laughed for a bit, making the young man smile to himself. "Anyway, I'm really sorry I didn't contact you before. Aoi probably explained everything, but I just wanted to apologize. If only I could be as smart as you when coming up with surprises, things would be a bit more interesting. It's too bad I'm not nearly as smart as you are. Ah, well. I probably shouldn't keep this message too long. I just wanted to say sorry, oh. And have a Merry Christmas, Haruto. Tell the Ozu Sisters that too for me, alright? Bye."

Not really knowing what came over him, right after hearing the message, Haruto had pressed the redial button of the radio. It took a few seconds of the loud sound of mesh and static before he realized what he had done.

"What is wrong with me, seriously?" He sighed, about to push the off button. "There's no way she would-"

"Haruto?" Came Ibara's voice from the radio. "Where's the usual formal greeting huh? It's rare for you to call without one."

"Naruse?" He asked, surprised by this outcome. Who would've thought that she'd actually answer it?!

"Yeah?" She replied cheerfully. "What's up? Did ya' need something from me?"

"Well...no ." Haruto said, feeling ashamed all of a sudden. "I just heard your message a few seconds ago. I just wanted to check up on you guys for a bit. Sorry I wasn't able to answer it though. Shion must've fallen asleep while she was on watch again."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it too much. In fact, I should be apologizing for calling so late. I never even considered the fact that you all must be sleeping by then. Besides, I just called on a whim, so it really isn't that important or anything."

"Is...is that so?" Haruto didn't know what was happening with him. Why on earth would he be so elated over a simple call? It made absolutely no sense! "So, how's the mission going then? I heard you guys were-" A loud crashing sound was suddenly heard from Ibara's side of the call, followed by a scream and something that vaguely resembled the sound of gunshots being fired.. "Naruse? Is everything all right over there? I heard a really lou-"

"I'm really sorry Haruto." Ibara cut him off, sounding pretty panicked. "Sorry, but Aoi and Taeko sort of need me right now, so I have to go. Merry Christmas! Bye!"

"H-hey! Naruse! Wait!" He tried to call out, but was too late. Sighing to himself, he tried calling her radio, but to no avail. Over and over, he tried to do so, but he couldn't connect the call. Thinking that something was wrong with the radio itself, he decided to tinker with it, his worry chewing and gnawing at his being, nearly swallowing him whole. "Damn it. What was that sound just-"

"Harutoo~" Shion whined as she woke up. "Can you cook breakfast? I'm hungryy~"

"Sorry. Not now Shion." He said, not bothering to look at her. "I really need to get this thing working properly again."

"Hah? " She muttered sleepily, wiping the sleep from her droopy eyes. "What're you-"

"Channel 2 to Channel 3. Can you hear me, Kurosawa Haruto?" The VP'S deep voice said. Confused, Haruto dropped his tools and held the radio to his mouth.

"Kurosawa Haruto here." He answered in his serious tone. "Is something the matter VP?"

"You may not like what you're going to hear, Kurosawa." The VP said in a dreadful tone. That must mean that something bad had happened. He took a breath, his hands forming into fists as he waited. But even before the VP said it, Haruto knew what he was going to say. The timing was just impeccable, and based on the VP'S tone; it could only mean one thing. "I believe that the Health care Unit is facing some problems. The worst of it all though? Naruse Ibara has just gone missing."

_Sometimes, I hate myself for being right. Goddamnit_.

**-chapter end-**

**HEY guys. I understand that Christmas is actually over, but it'd be a waste if I didn't do something about this story! It'll just collect virtual dust bunnies on my phone and laptop if I didn't post or do something about it. Soooo there we go. I don't really have much to say right now, since I'm getting kinda sleepy. Sorry if they were OOC. Also, as per usual, I didn't proofread this, so sorry again! I haven't written in a while, so I apologize if it sucked.**

**Well, thanks for reading this anyway! Tell me what you think about it okay? Belated Merry Christmas! It's almost New Year andI'm still writing a Chriatmas Fic? Whatever... JA-NE~! Sorry if its short by the way. I was typing this on my phone, sooo...yeah... BYE~!**


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